Here is some code I used to do nested checkbox highlighting within a table. I needed to be able to do a "check all/uncheck all" but only within at a single level within the nesting; that is, I didn't want child elements getting selected as well.
var parentTable = $(this).parents("table:first");
var exclusions = parentTable.find("table :checkbox.select");
var checkboxes = parentTable.find(":checkbox.select").not(exclusions);
I'd get the first table above the current one I was in, get all the checkboxes below this newly found parent table, then exclude them from the complete list of checkboxes I could find. Basically, I was finding every checkbox, but then excluding any child checkboxes I found.
The same could be adapted in your case; replace the checkbox selection with columns instead.